CHRISTMAS PUDDING
Ingredients:
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2 tsp ground cinnamon
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½ tsp ground nutmeg
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1/2 tsp ground ginger
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1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
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pinch sea salt
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1 ½ cups (250g) raisins
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1 whole sweet orange – including skin PLUS
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1 2/3 cups (250g) organic dried apricots, chopped
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1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
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450g pitted fresh medjool dates
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2 organic eggs
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1/4 cup olive oil or good quality melted cultured butter
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3 cups (300g) almond meal (see notes)
Method:
Take the orange juice and soak the raisins and apricots for a few hours or overnight, they will soak up the juice and become plump and moist.
Steam the whole orange for 1 hour until softened then sit aside to cool.
Preheat your oven to 160C fan forced or 180 C (no fan).
Lightly oil 2 x 750 ml pudding moulds and line with baking paper – alternatively if you’re making individual puddings, lightly oil 12 x ½ cup dariole or pudding moulds.
In a food processor, combine dates and whole steamed orange (chopped) and blitz for 30-60 secs until a paste forms.
Then add eggs and olive oil and spices vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt and ginger.
Process again until the batter is smooth and creamy looking.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Drain the orange juice from the soaked dried fruit and discard.
Add sultanas, apricots, almond meal and mix well.
Divide between pudding moulds.
Make a water bath for the moulds, put the moulds into a deep baking dish.
Pour enough freshly boiled water to come half way up sides of pudding bowls.
Cover with a layer of each baking paper and foil, pressing around edges of pan to completely seal.
Bake large puddings for 1 hr 30 mins. Bake small puddings for 1 hour 10 minutes – test each to make sure they are fully cooked through before removing from the oven. The puddings should still be lovely and moist in the middle – but not wet or undercooked.
Invert puddings onto a serving plate.
Top with spices, nuts and seeds.